Moving On
by WesDunne
Summary: Naruto and Sasuke have lived in agony for years after losing one most precious to them. They've found a way to get a second chance to say things they never had the opportunity to say, and the ability to move on. Coda to "Cruel Fate, Kind Destiny". One-shot.


**Author's Note: **

This is a quick, unedited one-shot of the CFKD universe, 5-6 years after the fight at the bridge in the Land of Waves. I wrote it while I was experiencing some writer's block on an unrelated project to try to get my creative juices flowing again. It's an AU of that AU, using an idea I had played with back when I was writing Chapter 7, and where things could have ended up had I taken a more tragic path.

- Wes

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**Moving On**

"Ready?" Sasuke asked quietly, his black and crimson eyes glittering in the pale moonlight. As always the pattern of his Mangekyou reminded Naruto of how cold and detestable the world was.

"As I'll ever be," the blond said gruffly, digging his clawed fingers into the shoulder of their captive. He carelessly tore the black hood from the young man's head, revealing a pair of frantic bespectacled eyes. Kabuto knelt in front of Naruto, his grey hair matted with blood, and his breath coming in ragged bursts. He appeared disoriented and malnourished, and nowhere near the confident youth he had been five years earlier.

"O-Orochimaru's dead!" he stammered, pulling desperately at the ropes binding his wrists. "You got what you wanted!"

"No," Naruto responded callously, his hard blue eyes contemptuous. "Do you think we abandoned Konoha to train under you two just to kill you later?" He reached into the folds of his jacket, carefully drawing out a small, battered wooden case. "Sasuke, go ahead." The Uchiha nodded, trading places with his friend and kneeling in front of Kabuto. He set down a scroll and unraveled it, displaying what appeared to be a simple inscription. Naruto silently passed him the container, his eyes lingering on it for a moment before he stepped back.

"What . . ." Kabuto started weakly, eyes widening. Sasuke drew out a single vial of blood, carefully unstopping it and pouring the contents over the ink seal on the scroll. "No – you can't. He didn't teach you that."

"We figured it out. It's ready," Sasuke continued calmly, standing and allowing Naruto to move back to the scroll. "I'll hold him still." Naruto only nodded, ignoring Kabuto and lowering himself in front of the blood-stained scroll. The woods seemed to quiet around their small clearing as he lifted his hands, clasping them together in the serpent seal. Black script raced from the page in front of him, spilling out and around the captive. The inscriptions arched outward in an elaborate seal, the center of which formed beneath Kabuto as an inky black pool. The last items to form were two symbols between Naruto and the quivering man: 'Impure' and 'World'.

"Stop! I can find a different sacrifice!" Kabuto pleaded as scraps of paper started rising from the center pool beneath him. "I can teach you more of his techniques, ones even more powerful!"

"This is the only one we need," Naruto growled, his hands deliberately moving into the ram seal. He felt no remorse as Kabuto began screaming. A flood of parchment-like debris poured out all around him, plastering every exposed part of his body until he was obscured from view completely. His strangled cries were choked away a moment later as the mass of paper twitched and writhed. Slowly it shrank down, flowing into a diminutive form that nobody had seen in nearly six years.

"Hinata," Naruto choked. The ever-present ache in his heart intensified as the younger body of his lost teammate formed completely in front of him. Her initially patchy skin smoothed over quickly, and the blank covering began to take on the colors of her old clothes. It was all there, from her oversized beige jacket to the forehead protector she had always worn about her neck. It was Hinata, just like he remembered her before their mission to the Land of Waves. At least, she was almost the same.

Her eyes eased open, and both Naruto and Sasuke took in a sharp breath. They had known all along that the technique always changed the reanimated individual's eyes, but it was still unnerving to see Hinata with blackened sclera and dark irises. She blinked at the two of them, then looked down at herself before biting hard at her lower lip, tears already forming in the corners of her eyes.

"How . . ." she rasped. "Why?" Naruto's very soul ached as he heard her speak. It had been so long since he had heard her voice, and to hear it so pained nearly broke him.

"I'm sorry . . . I'm so sorry," he rasped, reaching out to touch her cheek. "I know it's wrong – I knew it was wrong all along. But I couldn't . . . I had to get you back, to tell you . . ." His voice broke then; he hadn't been ready at all. Hinata's own tears started down her cheeks, but the softest smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she reached up to take Naruto's hand with both of hers.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Naruto-kun," she said softly. "I'm sorry that I had to leave you – both of you." She looked up and gave Sasuke a little smile as well. He tried to return it, but in the end he was forced to look away. "You two are grew up a lot while I've been gone, haven't you? You look like you could be seventeen now."

"Eighteen," Naruto sniffed, unable to meet her eyes. "It's been six years. I . . ." he hesitated, struggling to get the words out. "Why did you intercept the attack? Why. . . ? I loved you . . . I just needed a little more time to realize it. Just a little more time . . ." Hinata smiled sadly and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Naruto's waist and embracing him tightly. The action elicited another choked sob from the young man; it had been so long.

"Because I love you too," she whispered, leaning her head against his chest. "My body moved on its own, and if I had to do it over again I would do the same thing. But Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun . . ." Hinata shook her head, squeezing tightly. "I don't know why I'm here again, but I know that it's . . . wrong. This is a forbidden jutsu, isn't it?" Neither of the young men said anything, but they didn't need to. "I can't stay here."

"I know," Naruto said quietly, taking in a few quick, calming breaths. He had to get a handle on his emotions. They had waited years for this, and he couldn't squander it with his crying. "We just needed to see you one last time, and to tell you what we never had the chance to."

"We learned a lot of things after you . . . after that day," Sasuke started, still looking off into the woods. "We learned that the world isn't what we thought it was, and that there's corruption deep within Konoha's hierarchy. We left, to try to better this world in whatever ways we could. A few of our friends came too – Tenten, Lee, Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba, Shino, and even Kakashi-sensei. We're doing our best to create a place where shinobi are no longer needed, where we don't have to lose those closest to us anymore."

"I know it's weird," Naruto laughed, wiping at his eyes as he leaned away from Hinata. "And it probably sounds crazy to you, but we're just doing what we think is right, and living by our own ninja way. We just . . . Wanted you to know that we're okay, and that we're not wasting the life you gave us." It was her turn to break down now, and Naruto smiled fondly and pulled her back to him in a tight hug. "We miss you, Hinata-chan. And . . . I guess I just needed you to know how I really felt. I still love you, and I always will."

"I'll be waiting for you both," Hinata muttered into his chest, sniffing periodically. "But I'd better not see you there too soon, or you're going to get it." Naruto couldn't help but chuckle softly at her scolding, giving her a final squeeze before moving reluctantly back. They stood together, hand-in-hand, like it was still a familiar thing. Sasuke's features softened and he stepped over to give her a quick hug as well. Even though her body was the same as it had been before, and she was significantly shorter than they were now, her hug still felt the same.

All three of them stood together for a time, holding each other's hands in silence. It was a comfortable, accepting quiet, even if filled with the ache of years of hardship and longing. Slowly, one piece at a time, Hinata's faux body began to break apart and float towards the sky. Naruto and Sasuke kept their gentle smiles, determined to leave their friend a happy memory when she departed this time. Tears fell continuously long after their hands were left grasping empty air, but at last they were bittersweet instead of filled only with sorrow. They stared up at the stars for a long time, committing to memory the last time they would see their friend for another long while.

"Until next time," Naruto murmured, taking in a deep, shaky breath. He turned towards the edge of the clearing with Sasuke at his side. They held themselves straighter than before, as if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders. "Ready?" Naruto asked as they leapt into the nearest tree.

"As I'll ever be."


End file.
